Street-sweeper.



No. 740,063. I PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903. H. THOMPSON.

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1902.

R0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

k N Ill Tm: xmms nuns co. nom-mmc., wunmcrou. c. c

' 10j/40,000. T ATENTED sEPT.29,1903.

' E. THOMPSON.

STREET SWEEPEE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES Patented septemimA 2,9, 1903.'

PATENT EFICE.

STREET-SWFEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 740,063, dated. September .29, 1903.

Application led July 25, 1902,. Serial No. 116i9'74. (No model.)

To wl whom it may concern..-

Beit known that I, HORACE THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Concord, in the county of Merrimack and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new andv useful Street-Sweeper, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to street-sweeping machines, and more especially to that class of rotary street-sweepers in which the entirel mechanism is monntedupon'wheels the trac-4 tion of which upon the ground or pavement when in motion furnishes power to revolve the cylindrical broom, which is properly mounted upon the frame. j

My invention has for its object to provide a machine of this class which shall possess advantages in point of simplicity, durability,

and general efficiency, in which the rear partV of the machine carrying the broom shall be spring-supported, so that a light pressure upon the handle-bars shall be sufficient to canse the broom to engage the pavement with any desired degree of pressure, in which the broom shallv be mounted in a yoke having vertical adjustment, so that brooms of vari^ ous diameters may be used andby reason of which wear upon'the broom may be 'compen sated for by lowering the 'supporting-yoke, and in which the removable drawer or dirt'-v receptacle shall be provided with a hinged extension forming a drag to receive the dirt swept onto it by the broom during the progress of the machine.

With these and other ends in view the invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed ont in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is perspective view ofa street sweeping machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken through the supporting device-at the rear end of the frame. Figs4 is a'sectional detail-view taken through a portion of the axle, the* gear-wheel thereon, and the clutch mechanism for connecting said axle and gear-wheel and within the hub of the adjacent traction-wheel. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line @c in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken on theY line y y in Fig. `2 and looking in the direction of the arrow.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by like characters of reference.

The frame 1 of my improved street-sweeper is provided with boxes or bearings 2 2 for the axle 3, which is mounted revolubly in said boxes and at the ends of which the tractionwhe'els 44 are secured. The side pieces 5 5 of the'frame are connected at their front ends by a cross-piece 6. The rear ends of the sides of the frame are'connected by means of a yoke7, the upperends of the arms of which the frame by means of of which havey pivotal connectionwiththe sides of the frame at 10. Saidv handles are connected by means of slottedbraces 11 and bolts 12 with the braces 8, thereby supporting'the handles and making their upper ends vertically adjustable.

15 designates a yoke, the arms of which embrace the arms of the yoke 7 and are vertically adjustable thereon by means of bolts 16, engaging alining perforations 17 in the arms of the two yokes. The yoke 15 is provided with rearwardly-extending brackets 18, having boxes 19, alording bearings for the shaft 20, carrying the cylindrical broom 2l. The rear ends of the brackets 18 are provided with clamps 22, carrying a vertically-adjustable tubular barrel 23, which may be retained at any desired point of adjustment by means of a set-screw 24. 25 designates a spindle vertically movable in the barrel 23 and provided with an annular fiange or collar 26 (shown plainly in Fig. 8 of the drawings) and between which and the cap 27 of the barrel is coiled a spring 28.' The lower end of the spindle is suitably supported upon a casterwheel 29. It will thus be seen that the rear part of the frame is supported by the springs 28, which should be sufficiently strong to support that part of the frame which lies in rear of the axle. It will further be seen that a light pressure-of the hands downward upon the handles 9 9 will lower or depress the rear part of the frame against the tension of thc IOS chine.

spring, thereby regulating the degree of pressure with which the broom 2l is caused to engage the pavement.

The frame ofthe machine is provided at the front end with cleats 30, supporting a longitudinally-sliding drawer 30, which is provided at its upper edge with flanges 30",

' llanges 33, provided with bolts or pins 34,

extending through slots 35 in the sides ofthe drawer 30, said slots being concentric with the pintle of the hinge by means of which the bottom extension 32 is connected with the drawer. The said bottom extension, as will thus be seen, while permitted to drag upon the ground is enabled to pass over any obstructions that may present themselves, as well as over the refuse matter which is subsequently swept by the action of the revolving broom over the said hinged extension and into the drawer or receptacle 30.

The shaft 20, upon which the broom 3l is mounted, carries a gear-'wheel 36, meshing wit-l1 a gear-wheel 37, which is looselymounted upon the axle 3 of the machine. The said axle is provided with a slidable clutch member 38, splined thereon and having an annular groove engaged bya forked lever39, which is pivotally connected with brackets 40, extending from one ofthe handles 9 of the ma- The gear-wheel 37 is provided with a clutch member 4:1, adapted to be engaged by the slidable clutch member 38, which may be placed in engagement therewith or withdrawn from such engagement by means of the lever 39, the upper end of which has a curved handle 42 within convenient reach of the operator.

The hubs of the traction-wheels 4 are provided with automatic clutch mechanisms, whereby they are caused to rotate the shaft or axle when the machine is propelled in a forward direction only. This mechanism consists in providing the hubs 50 of the tractionwheels 4 with a plurality of ratchet-shaped recesses 51, each having one of its walls 52 straight and preferably radial to the axle, while the other wall 53 is inclined and preferably curved, as shown. The number of these recesses is immaterial, although an uneven number should be used, five having been shown in the drawings. The axle 3 has a transverse perforation 54, in which is seated a sliding pin 55, which is of a length to extend from one side of the axle into the deepest part of the oppositely-disposed recess 5l.

It will be seen that when the traction-wheels are revolved in one direction the pin 55 will Atances in a rearward direction.

be engaged by the straight wall of one of the recesses, thus carrying the axle around with it. The parts are obviously disposed in such a manner that this operation will take place when the machine is pushed in a forward direction. When the machine is backed, the pin 55 will be engaged by the inclined sides of the recesses, and the axle will thus remain stationary, while the traction-wheels revolve loosely thereon without operating the wheel 37 and its related parts.

The frame ot' the machine has a lid 43, whereby the refuse matter swept into the drawer 30 shall be confined and the dust prevented from rising.

The operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed.

As the machine passes over the ground in a forward direction, propelled either by hand or by any other suitable power, the gearwheel 37 may be'connected with the axle by means of the clutch mechanism described. When thus connected, it receives from the axle a rotary motion, imparted thereto by the traction-wheels, and this rotary motion is communicated from the gear-wheel 2 7 to the gear-wheel 3G, upon the shaft of which the cylindrical broom is mounted. Said broom being thus rotated will operate to sweep the refuse matter from the pavementover the hinged bottom extension of the drawer into the said drawer or receptacle, from which it may be eventually removed by temporarily detachiug the said drawer from the frame of the machine. The rear end of the machineframe, with the entire weight of the broom, being supported upon the springs 28, as previously described, there will be comparatively little frictional resistance, and the machine will be found to run extremely light, the pressure being regulated by the hands of the operator upon the handles 9. By the construction herein described I am enabled to use brooms of various sizes by vertically adjusting the yoke supporting the broom. In like manner I am enabled to so adjust the carrying-yoke l5 as to compensate for wear upon the broom originally placed in the machine. p

It will be observed that whenever the machine is propelled in a rearward direction or backed the automatic clutch means connecting the hubs of the traction-wheels with the axles will permit the said traction-wheels to rotate loosely upon the axle, thus permitting the machine to be moved rearwardly upon the traction-wheels without communieating motion to the rotary brush. This feature is of especial importance in machines that are operated by hand and which frequently require to be moved for short dis- This auxiliary clutch mechanism, it will be seen, is eutirely independent of the clutch mechanism IIO y of the hand-lever 39. It Will also be seen that my improved street-sweeping machine While thoroughly efficient is capable of being inexpensively constructed, inasmuch as it p consists of comparatively few parts, said parts being so combined and arranged as to yield the best possible results.

I Would have it understood that While I have in the foregoing described what I con-` sider to be the most preferable form of my invention I do not limit myself'as regards the detailed construction, but reserve to myself the right to any changes, alterations, and modifications which may be resorted to without detracting from the utility of the device or departing from the spirit and scope ot' the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States-f l. A device of the class described comprising a frame supported upon traction-Wheels and having ayoke vconnecting the rear ends of the sides of said frame, a yoke vertically adjustable upon and detachably connected Q with the frame-yoke, and having rearwardlyv extending brackets, a rotary broom supported ting motion to said broom from the tractionwheels, substantially as set forth.

combination of a frame supported upon trac-l tion-wheels, a vertically-adj ustable yoke having rearward-extending brackets carrying a` rotary broom, means for transmitting motion from the traction-wheels tothe broom, and

springs supportedupon the spindles of cas-- ter-Wheels and supporting the broom-carrying brackets of the yoke, substantially as set forth. p

3. In adevice of the class described, a yoke having rearward-extending brackets, a shaft supported upon said brackets `and having a cylindrical broom mounted thereon, clamp'- ing means at the outer ends of the yokebrackets, and spring-supported caster-Wheels connected adjustably with said clamping 4. In a device of the class described, the I combination of a frame having an axle mounttary broom, means for operating the latter, and spring-supporting means connected with stantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as -my own I have hereto affixed my signature in `the presence of two witnesses.

upon saidbrackets and means for transmit-v I-IORAOE THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

KATHARINE CLANcY, DAVID F. DUDLEY.

vand vertically adjustable upon the bracketsv v extending rearwardly from the yoke, Sub- 

